Dancing on my own
by mfindlow
Summary: Ianto's lesser known skills are called upon by an unlikely person in order to save the day from total disaster.


Author notes: Written for Fan-Flashworks Challenge 121 - Dancing

Ianto didn't recognise the number that appeared on his phone.

'Ianto Jones.'

'Oh, Ianto, it's Rhys, Rhys Williams, you know, Gwen's boyfriend?'

'Right, yes, hi Rhys. Ah, Gwen's out on a call at the moment. Can I get her to call you back or take a message?'

'Ah, actually it was you I wanted to speak to.'

'Okay,' Ianto said cagily, eyebrows furrowed. What could Rhys possibly need to speak to him about? Please say it wasn't something to do with Jack and Gwen.

'Yes, well ah, see the wedding is in a few weeks and-'

'Yes, I sent the RSVPs last week. We'll all be there. Rift permitting of course.'

'Ah, well it's not that actually.'

'Oh.' It was something to do with Jack and Gwen.

'It's just well, it's Gwen's big day and all and I don't want to muck it up for her, and I know that I haven't told her yet but I was thinking, er, sharp bloke like you might know a thing or two about dancing?' Rhys's voice grew higher and higher as he approached the end of the question to the point where Ianto wasn't even sure sure he'd heard correctly.

'Dancing?'

'Yeah, you know, like couples dancing? No, look, never mind. I'm sorry I asked. It was a stupid idea.'

Rhys felt like a complete idiot. What had he been thinking? He should just man up and find one of those classes in town, but he hadn't been able to bring himself to do it, and usually they required both members of the couple attend.

'No, no, sorry, I didn't mean it to come out that way, you just caught me by surprise a bit.'

Ianto felt awful for Rhys. Awkward as it was, he couldn't really turn him away.

'Of course. I'd be happy to help.'

'Really? I mean, it's no trouble?'

'Not at all.'

'Oh, cheers mate, you'd really be saving my bacon! And Gwen, well she's always singing your praises, that's why I thought I'd call, see.'

Rhys had suddenly gained some confidence now that Ianto had agreed. After all, apart from the odd alien encounter, they really didn't know each other all that well. But he and Jack seemed to be in some sort of relationship, and Jack was okay in his books for the most part. And if it meant it was two less blokes after his lovely fiancé, then that was okay too. And Gwen trusted them with her life every day, so that sealed it for him.

Ianto, on the other hand, was feeling less confident about his new undertaking.

The next evening at seven, Rhys met Ianto as instructed, outside the steps of a decrepit looking building. The sky had clouded over in the twilight, and a light drizzle was driving people off the streets

'Listen mate, I really appreciate you doing this. And maybe it's a bit of a stupid question, but since as we're doing this in secret, and you have a secret underground base, why are we here?'

Ianto fixed him with a look he couldn't quite put his finger on. It wasn't annoyed or condescending, but it wasn't necessarily reassuring either.

'Because, keeping a secret like this in the hub would be difficult with CCTV all over the place. It's doable, but I didn't think you'd appreciate the location we'd have to use. Besides, even if we could keep it from Gwen, Jack's another matter altogether, and he lives there. And, if it's all the same to you, I'd rather Jack didn't know about our little arrangement either.'

'No, no of course not,' Rhys replied, feeling a little foolish. After all, Ianto was doing him a massive favour, and he still wasn't quite sure where they stood.

'Shall we?' Ianto asked, ushering Rhys inside.

The interior of the hall was not quite as bad as the exterior, but had clearly seen better days. A few old metal backed chairs stood forlornly in the corner, and the floor was covered in a thick layer of dust.

'And they say Cardiff 's running out of space,' Rhys commented.

'It wouldn't be if we didn't keep buying it.'

'What, you actually own this place?'

'Torchwood does. Used to be a voluntary medical clinic back in the sixties.'

'What happened?'

'One day they all disappeared. Doctors, nurses, patients. Apparently one second they were there and the next they were all gone.'

Rhys looked shocked.

'How?'

'Torchwood report findings were inconclusive. I suspect it was some sort of large negative rift spike, but that's just a guess. I've never seen reports of it taking such a large space. One or two at most, but a whole building?'

Rhys had no idea what Ianto was on about. Half of what Gwen said went over his head most nights.

'Anyway, when they couldn't fathom it out they bought it, just to be safe, and when nothing further happened they rented it out. Only problem was they couldn't keep a tenant for more than a few months. Kept getting complaints of ghosts.'

'Ghosts?'

'Reports of crying children, sickly old men or pregnant women mostly. They though it was haunted by the patients who'd been here when they disappeared.'

'Ghosts?' Rhys repeated.

'Don't worry, there's no such thing as ghosts. Probably just a minor temporal resonance or something.'

'Right,' Rhys said hesitantly, looking around and expecting to see pale figures lurking.

'Shall we get on then?'

'Ye- yeah,' Rhys replied, still distracted.

Ianto extracted from his coat pocket a small Bluetooth speaker and placed it on one of the chairs, syncing it with his phone. He'd given Rhys homework last night to get a playlist of songs for the reception. Rhys was glad that Mervyn had organised most of it and not Banana Boat, so that at least a few songs were considered wedding appropriate.

What did Rhys want to learn, Ianto asked.

Rhys looked at him a bit blankly.

Ianto knew he had his work cut out for him, and suggested staring with a waltz and a foxtrot. If he felt adventurous after that, maybe a samba and a cha-cha.

Ianto began by standing in front of Rhys and showing him the basic steps. Then he turned his back to Rhys and made him replicate the movements with Ianto standing in front so that he could follow. Then again with the music, until Rhys felt confident enough about the basic steps.

'Make it all look a bit easy on "Strictly" don't they?' Rhys remarked.

Ianto smiled wanly.

So far Rhys had only learned basically how to flounce about the room on his own. Doing it as part of a couple was another matter entirely. He wasn't sure how to say it, let alone initiate this next step.

'So,' Ianto began slowly, 'are you ready to try it as a pair?'

'Eh? You mean, you and me?' Rhys said, gesticulating his finger between them.

Ianto bit back his usual reserve. Rhys had asked for this, and Ianto begrudged doing anything by halves.

'Well, unless you can see someone else in the room?'

'Er, right,' Rhys conceded.

They shuffled awkwardly towards each other trying to find to right spot to put hands. Rhys was slightly put off by Ianto's height, not accustomed to dancing with a taller partner, and Ianto was trying not to go red with Rhys' hand on his waist. He was used to Jack's hands all over him, but this felt totally weird.

'Well this isn't awkward at all,' Ianto quipped.

'God, if Gwen saw me now, I'd never live it down!'

'And Jack. He'd be loving this.'

'Can you imagine? The pair of them together, laughing their heads off at us like some ridiculous camp version of "Strictly Come Dancing"!'

'Jack would be jealous and want to cut in.'

'Yeah but with who?'

Their pair of them started laughing at themselves and their predicament. Somehow it had broken the ice, and when they finally resumed their positions it seemed far less uncomfortable.

Dancing as a couple proved far more difficult.

It took all of Ianto's concentration not to lead, and to dance in the opposite direction than what he was used to. Rhys had enough trouble just following along at the same distance and speed, and they both cringed each time he trod on Ianto's feet, which was often.

Rhys groaned in frustration again. He was never going to get the hang of this.

'This is hopeless mate,' he said despondently.

'It's not,' Ianto assured him, 'you're just over thinking it.'

'Overthinking it? I can't get my feet and my brain to keep time!' he retorted, still looking down at his feet and forcing them to move.

'Here, let's try something different.'

Ianto began loosening his tie and removed it completely. He made to move towards Rhys with it.

'Woah, what are you doing?' Rhys said, quickly backing away, worried that Ianto might be intent on strangling him with it.

'Just relax and close your eyes. Trust me.'

Rhys reluctantly complied and felt the cool silk wrap around his face, blindfolding him.

'Right, now let's try it again. Just you first on your own.'

Rhys stumbled a bit, getting used to not being able to see where he was, then just focused on closing his eyes behind the blindfold. As the music began, he moved his feet and found very quickly that they started doing what he wanted them to.

'Eh, I think I'm getting it!' sounding surprised by his own admission.

'Of course you are,' replied Ianto, pleased. 'Now, are you ready to try it for real?'

'How'd you mean?'

He felt Ianto take his hand, and place his other on Rhys' shoulder.

Oh, right, Rhys thought, he meant, try dancing it together again.

He put his arm out hesitantly, expecting to be groping around aimlessly, but found Ianto's waist just where his hand though it should be.

'How's that work then? Why couldn't I do it eyes open?'

'It's all muscle memory. Once you've got it you don't forget it, like riding a bike. You'll be able to do it just the same with eyes open.'

'Oh.' It all seemed a bit too simple to him. Ianto made it sound easy, but then he wasn't the one with two left feet.

The music started once more and Rhys found himself moving smoothly in time. How had that happened?

'This is bloody magic! Ianto you are brilliant, mate!'

Ianto barely registered his comments. As they continued to move to the music he closed his own eyes and lost himself in a memory that had been buried for a long time.

There were a lot of things that were distasteful about working for Torchwood One, but they certainly knew how to throw a party.

The annual Christmas Ball was not to be missed under any circumstances, and even though Ianto was not a social person by nature, even he was looking forward to the event this year.

He'd been dating Lisa for a few months now, but the idea of being her date for the night still had his stomach in knots of anxiety. He wanted it to be special this year. He'd even made an excuse to leave work early, for the first time ever, to pick up his tuxedo from a swanky little tailor in Chelsea.

He wrung his hands nervously in the cab as it pulled up outside her flat.

The image of her when she opened her door to him would stay in his memory for a very long time. She looked absolutely stunning in her sleek black gown, and as he made to compliment her she stared to ramble on about how her sister in law worked as a photographer for a boutique magazine and how she'd been able to borrow the dress from a colleague. It seemed he wasn't the only one who was nervous, but even so, she still seemed to carry off confidence much better than he ever did.

The night was wonderful, and despite the crowds of obnoxious brown nosing types, they managed to ignore it all and just enjoy being in the moment.

He felt a slight trepidation when she asked him to dance, forgetting everything he'd ever learned for a few moments, but quickly regaining control of his feet, enjoying the music and the feeling of holding her so close to his own body. It was as if they had become a single entity, and he wanted that feeling to last forever, praying the music wouldn't stop.

As she leaned in to press her lips against his, he was startled back out of the memory, and found himself back in the hall with Rhys.

It left him feeling empty and slightly cold. He suddenly wished Jack were here instead of Rhys.

They'd never danced together, and Jack had been teasing him all week about sweeping him onto the dance floor. Ianto had parried all of his comments, elegantly refusing to be drawn into Jack's demands. He was still more than a little uncomfortable at the thought of being together publicly, and dancing at someone's wedding, even Gwen's, was not something he was relishing. At least he hadn't been until now.

The music faded and they parted.

Rhys pulled back the blindfold and grinned madly. Ianto smiled back.

'I'd say that was a success?' Ianto ventured.

'Brilliant mate, absolutely brilliant. D'you think next week maybe we could try it without this?' he said, handing Ianto back his tie.

'Sure,' he replied a bit absently, still thinking about gliding around the room in Jack's arms. It was just a few weeks after all, and Rhys knew what he was doing now. If anything, he was actually beginning to enjoy himself, despite the fact that they were two grown men, trying to learn to dance in a musty old hall that was supposedly haunted.

The next few weeks saw them make various excuses to Jack and Gwen about where they were. Ianto had to pick up dry cleaning, Rhys had to fill in for a driver that had called in sick, a meeting at HRM Revenue and Customs to discuss congestion tax exemptions for the SUV, annual borrowings review at the bank for Harwoods. All things that Jack and Gwen would avoid like the plague, and purposefully set on different days and at different times to ensure no suspicions were raised. Even Ianto had to admit Rhys' creativity for excuses was worthy of any Torchwood operative.

Four weeks later Ianto had them both expertly spinning around the room. They were even enjoying it, and pleased with themselves that they had maintained their charade, even if they'd had to reschedule several times because official Torchwood business got in the way.

'No problems, mate,' Rhys would say. 'Go save the world so as there's a world left by the time we get to the wedding.'

Gwen's wedding was not quite what Ianto had expected but he had to admit, it was so very Torchwood.

If Torchwood did weddings then this was just par for the course. Between them they'd been invited, impregnated, uninvited, reinvited, tied up, shot at, impersonated, and at the end of it all, it had been the groom that had ended up saving the day.

Finally a simple yet happy ceremony, a reception that went off with a bang, and ended with a retcon induced coma for all the guests.

It ticked all the boxes. Except one.

With Mervyn dead, the reception lacked a DJ. Ianto offered to fill the void. He figured after everything that had happened, it was the least he could do to save the reception from being a total disaster.

He watched on rather proudly as Gwen and Rhys took to the floor for their first dance, and saw the delight in Gwen's eyes as Rhys smoothly glided her around the floor.

He heard Gwen's bridesmaids chatting nearby.

'Eh, where'd he learn that, then?'

'They must've gone to one of those couples classes.'

'No way do the boys down at the rugby club know how to do that. Shaming it is! No class these days!'

Now, as the night was winding down, he watched the last few couples on the dance floor.

Owen and Tosh were swaying together in one corner. He smiled to himself. Perhaps there was hope left for them after all, he thought.

In the center of the dance floor however, Gwen and Rhys were still enjoying themselves. Then Jack cut in.

It was a slight pang of jealousy watching them together, but at the same time Ianto knew that Jack was saying his goodbyes to something that had never been more than a fantasy. Whether Gwen was completely ready to say goodbye to it was another matter.

Despite his reservations, he made towards the dancing couple and cut in. Jack smirked at his uncharacteristic audacity.

'Mr Jones. I do believe I may have saved the last dance for you.' Jack said pulling Ianto's body tightly to his own.

'Then this will have to be the third last, because I haven't danced with Tosh yet.'

Jack chuckled. 'You'll have to fight Owen on that one. I think he's rather enjoying himself.' Jack replied, looking over Ianto's shoulder at the pair who were still dancing together. They should really have been retconning the last few guests, but who was Jack to deny them a few moments of happiness.

'Rhys turned out to be quite the Fred Astaire,' Jack observed.

'Mmm, who knew?'

'Who indeed?'

'I understand he's not the only one.'

'Well, it's Rhys' big day. I didn't want to outshine the groom.'

'Of course not.' Ianto rolled his eyes even though he knew Jack couldn't see it.

They swayed gently to the music for several minutes in silence.

'We should really do this more often,' Jack remarked.

'What, gate crash weddings?'

'No, this,' Jack responded, leaning back slightly and pressing his lips against Ianto's in a long lingering kiss, that caused Ianto's world to fall away around him.


End file.
